Lectures on the Diamond Sutra: Why Is the Dharma Attained by the Tathāgata Neither Real Nor Unreal?

Original text of Chapter Fourteen, "Liberation Through Freedom from Marks": 须菩提。如来所得法。此法无实无虚。

Explanation: Subhūti, the dharma attained by the Tathāgata is neither real nor false.

What dharma can the Tathāgata ultimately attain? Why is it neither real nor false? The dharma accomplished by the Tathāgata, stated simply and concisely, is this: a Tathāgata with a body of the five aggregates has removed all defilement and ignorance, has ultimately realized supreme, perfect enlightenment (anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi), has fulfilled supreme bodhi, is adorned with the incomparably majestic thirty-two marks, and has established a pure and majestic buddha-land in order to receive sentient beings with karmic affinity and to accomplish the buddha-way together with them. As for the Dharmakāya Buddha (dharma-kāya-buddha) without a body of the five aggregates—the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna)—in the end, consciousness is transformed into wisdom, becoming the great perfect mirror wisdom (ādarśajñāna) whose light illuminates the great thousand worlds; its meritorious nature perfectly and universally illuminates all dharmas—no dharma is unknown, no dharma is unawakened to, no dharma is unilluminated.

Whether it is the Sambhogakāya Buddha (saṃbhoga-kāya-buddha), the Nirmāṇakāya (nirmāṇakāya), or the manifestation-body buddha with the thirty-two marks, or the markless Dharmakāya Buddha, the dharma attained is neither real nor false—neither existent nor nonexistent. If one says these dharmas are false, yet the buddhas do, after all, possess the thirty-two marks; after all, they have transformed consciousness into wisdom; after all, they have realized the fruit of buddhahood; after all, they have extensively delivered immeasurable sentient beings; after all, they can manifest countless hundreds of millions of transformation bodies; after all, they can establish countless buddha-lands; after all, they have fulfilled the wisdom of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā); after all, there is no dharma they do not know, nothing that is not perfectly clear to them, their wisdom is pure without remainder, and they have, after all, increased endless and inexhaustible wisdom, functions, virtues, and abilities, reaching perfection and becoming the supreme venerable one. All these dharmas truly exist in the Tathāgata; they are not fabricated, not imagined. The buddhas and Tathāgatas labored through three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas of arduous cultivation of the way, enduring the unendurable, practicing the unpracticable, for the sake of sentient beings and for the sake of Buddhism, expending endless effort and toil; their merit cannot be fully told or fully praised even in countless kalpas.

If one says the dharmas attained by the Tathāgata are real, yet these dharmas are, after all, subject to arising, ceasing, change, and variation, conjured forth by the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) and manifested by the undefiled consciousness. For example, the Tathāgata's body of the five aggregates is also born of causes and conditions; when the conditions cease, it disperses, and the thirty-two marks that accompany the body of the five aggregates will also disperse as conditions disperse. When conditions gather, the Tathāgata will again manifest countless and countless bodies of the five aggregates with the thirty-two marks and eighty excellent characteristics. The buddha-lands manifested by the Tathāgata to deliver sentient beings appear when conditions arise and disperse when conditions cease. When conditions gather, he will again manifest countless buddha-lands, thereby receiving and embracing immeasurable and immeasurable multitudes of sentient beings. Only the Tathāgata's undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) and great perfect mirror wisdom (ādarśajñāna) are true dharmas that will never, ever change—truly existent and not false.

Original text: 须菩提。若菩萨心。住于法而行布施。如人入暗。则无所见。若菩萨心不住法。而行布施。如人有目。日光明照。见种种色。

Explanation: Subhūti, if a bodhisattva, while practicing generosity (dāna), has the mind dwelling on the marks of the six sense objects as he practices giving, it is like a person entering a dark place who can see only darkness and nothing else. If a bodhisattva practices giving with a mind that does not dwell on the marks of the six sense objects, not dwelling on any dharma, it is like a person whose eyes are intact and upon whom the sunlight happens to shine—he can see all kinds of forms and is not blinded by darkness.

Why is it that when the mind dwells on marks while practicing giving, one is blinded by darkness and cannot see forms? Because in this bodhisattva's mind and eyes there are only the marks of form; he recognizes only the marks of form and thus cannot see the true dharma-marks behind the marks of form. His mind is blinded by the marks of form, and what he sees are all false and illusory marks, not according with true reality (dharmatā). This bodhisattva is bound by illusory marks and will ultimately not attain liberation. For example, a bodhisattva may practice giving in order to obtain a majestic appearance, to obtain the retribution of wealth and honor, to ascend to the heavens to enjoy pleasures, to gain the admiration of others, to obtain the throne of a wheel-turning sage king and dominion over sentient beings, and so on. All of these are conditioned worldly dharmas that must perish when conditions disperse. Such mental conduct does not accord with the true mind of vajra prajñā (Vajracitta), the mind of suchness; the mind cannot be emptied and purified, and thus the fruit of bodhi cannot be attained.

If a bodhisattva practices giving while attached to the marks of the six sense objects, he cannot see the true marks of the six sense objects, cannot realize that the six sense objects are all manifested and upheld by the true mind, that they are all functions of the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha, and thus he cannot attain the patience with non-arising or the patience with the non-arising of dharmas. Practicing giving while dwelling on marks, seeking worldly dharmas with a mind of acquisition, his mental capacity is narrow, his vision limited, and his wisdom not broad or great; he cannot accomplish the buddha-way. If a bodhisattva practices giving with a mind that does not dwell on marks, because his mind has nothing to gain, it accords with, conforms to, and corresponds with the mind of bodhi, and he will certainly realize bodhi. Because this bodhisattva is not attached to the marks of the six sense objects, he is also not attached to the marks of self, person, sentient being, and life span; his mind is inwardly empty and pure, his mind gains nothing, and at all times he can see the true marks of all dharmas. His mental capacity is vast, his merit is vast, and the wisdom of non-arising and the wisdom of the patience with the non-arising of dharmas will also gradually become vast and boundless; he will swiftly accomplish the buddha-way and fulfill bodhi.

Original text: 须菩提。当来之世。若有善男子。善女人。能于此经受持读诵。则为如来。以佛智慧。悉知是人。悉见是人。皆得成就。无量无边功德。

Explanation: Subhūti, in the future age of the Dharma's decline, if there are good men and good women who can faithfully receive, uphold, read, and recite this sutra, then I, with the pure and vast buddha-wisdom possessed by the Tathāgata, will completely know these people and completely see these people, and they will all accomplish immeasurable and boundless merit.

Why can these good men and good women who receive, uphold, read, and recite the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra all accomplish immeasurable and boundless merit? Because those who can hear the Diamond Sutra know that they themselves and all sentient beings are endowed with the indestructible vajra mind (Vajracitta); their merit is already beyond measure. After hearing it, if they can cultivate in accordance with the Dharma and realize this true mind of vajra prajñā, their merit becomes even more inconceivable. Their wisdom will also become ever deeper and broader, the multitudes of humans and gods they deliver will be beyond measure, and in the future they will swiftly accomplish the buddha-way. To receive and uphold the Diamond Sutra, one must already be a person who has realized and awakened to the true mind of vajra prajñā; otherwise, one cannot truly believe and accept it, nor can one truly practice and uphold it.

Upholding means relying on the true mind of vajra prajñā to cultivate away the defilements and ignorance of the seven consciousnesses and to grow the great wisdom of prajñā. Reading means interpreting and understanding the prajñā meaning of the tathāgatagarbha. Reciting means that the prajñā meaning has become thoroughly familiar and deeply planted in the mind. Receiving means accepting and taking in—after realizing the tathāgatagarbha, one can receive, observe, and engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) upon the nature and functioning of the tathāgatagarbha. Upholding means relying on the tathāgatagarbha to transform one's own mental conduct. Therefore, without realizing the tathāgatagarbha, one cannot truly read and recite, receive and uphold it, cannot widely proclaim the dharma of the tathāgatagarbha, and cannot extensively deliver immeasurable sentient beings. Therefore, the good men and good women who receive, uphold, read, and recite the Diamond Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra can all accomplish immeasurable and boundless merit.